CBN POW, Week XVI - Toro, plus Cottam, Wright

Former ABC and Seminole State Trojan INF Abraham Toro (Longeuil, Que.) earned POW honors. Again. Photo: International League

July 27, 2023

By George Farelli

Canadian Baseball Network

Larry Walker wore No. 33, took three practice swings between pitches and three throws when playing catch between innings.

Walker (Maple Ridge, BC) wore No. 33 all the way to Cooperstown.

Abraham Toro has worn lucky No. 13 for the Milwaukee Brewers. And after another hot week with the triple-A Nashville Sounds, Toro (Longueuil, Que.) is back with the Brewers wearing a double-digit number with a THREE in it.

All he did last week to earn Canadian Baseball Network minor league Player of the Week for Week XVI was hit .500. It’s too early to predict who will win the Randall Echlin award as the top minor league hitter in the minors, but this is old hat for Toro. He has won THREE times ... in Week III, Week XIII and Week XVI (which is THREE weeks from his last win.

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How the week that was went for Toro as he ...

_ Batting third and playing third, he went 2-for-4 as Nashville lost 6-4 to the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp before 4,841 fans at First Horizon Park in Nashville. Toro singled to left in the three-run first and doubled to left centre in the fourth.

_ DHing and hitting third he was 2-for-5 in a 5-3 win against Jacksonville. Toro hit a comebacker in the first inning for an infield hit and doubled to right field in the third -- his 19th of the season.

_ Playing third and batting third he was 2-for-3 in a 12-10 Nashville victory before 7,049 fans. Toro homered to right in the first -- his sixth -- walked in the third, tagged a run-scoring double to right -- No. 20 -- putting the Sounds up 7-2 and was hit by a pitch in the sixth. 3B Charles Leblanc (Laval, Que.) singled for Jacksonville.

_ Playing 1B and batting third he outscored Jacksonville his own self, scoring three runs and knocking in three more thanks to going 5-for-5 in a 17-3 romp in front of 8,633 fans. Toro reached on an infield hit and scored in the eight-run first; doubled to centre in the second, doubled to left in the fourth -- No. 22 -- singled to left and scored leading off the sixth, and in the same inning hit a two-run single making it 17-03.

_ Playing first and hitting third, he was 1-for-5 in a 10-9, 10-inning loss to the Jumbo Shrimp before 11,414 fans. He doubled to right field in the third. Leblanc hit a two-run homer in the sixth to even the score 5-5.

_ Batting third and playing third, he was 1-for-4 in a 9-5 loss to the Jumbo Shrimp before 7,379. Toro had a run-scoring double -- his 24th -- to left in the first inning.

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Highlight: INF-RHP Taylor Wright (North Vancouver, BC) - Named Player of the Week by IND Frontier League for the period between Tuesday, July 18 and Monday, July 24. Wright enjoyed an awesome six-game stretch for the Ottawa Titans in Week XVI, as he led his team to four wins in six Frontier League games played. As noted below, he had 10 hits in 19 at bats and added one home run plus eight RBIs, ending his week with an average of .526, which led all Canadians currently active in the minors.

To top off his special week, he was also the starting pitcher for the Titans in the final game of the Week, a 4-1 win over Florence Y’alls. He pitched two innings giving up three base hits and one earned run, but was not involved in the final decision, however he remained in the game as Ottawa’s DH and contributed two hits.

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Unsolicited thoughts, only my opinion: For several weeks I have been closely tracking C-INF Kole Cottam of the Spire City Ghost Hounds IND Atlantic League and, as I watch his production numbers climb significantly every week, the thought comes to mind ... why hasn’t a big league organization made the effort to acquire his contract, and offer him a second chance with an affiliated team?

The minors are not exactly overflowing with catching prospects who can hit for average and with power. It would not be a big risk in offering him a minor contract, for the balance of the 2023 season and, if he was able to produce at a rate anywhere near those which follow, he could be a steal. After 75 games with Spire City his impressive numbers read as:

At bats - 253, Runs - 35, Hits - 79, Home runs - 22, RBIs - 57, Average - .312, TB - 164. Cottam’s power numbers (homers, RBIs and total bases lead all Canadians currently active at the Affiliated, Independent or in Foreign League). Examining the past five weeks reveals that in 102 at bats Cottam has had 37 hits, including 11 home runs and 32 RBIs, while raising his average from .278 to the current .312.

Looking at catchers being used by the Blue Jays at Buffalo, a total of five different players so far, and considering one of them would have to be called up should Danny Jansen or Alejandro Kirk gets injured, ... with the Bisons in total they have generated 97 hits in 362 at bats and only two (and I repeat two) home runs and 40 RBIs.

Remember, pundits and experts constantly extol level of play in the Atlantic League, with some often saying it compares favorably with affiliated triple-A ball. The Blue Jays depth at this position is clearly unsatisfactory, Cottam at only 26 years of age could possibly be a short term solution to a serious problem, but even if a backup catching problem never does surface in the immediate future, an investment in someone at his age and potential could be well worth it in the long run.

Could the Red Sox have made a mistake in releasing him after the 2022 season? No doubt, my opinion is probably tinted with a small measure of “Canadian bias,” in that I’d like to see Kole Cottam get another chance, but in reality that’s irrelevant, because his impressive numbers speak for themselves, whereas my opinion carries no weight at all.

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Best Offensive Performances

Name Team Class AB R HITS HR RBIs AVG

Abraham Toro AAA Nashville 26 9 13 1 6 .500

Francisco Hernandez A Peoria 13 4 6 - 1 .462

Tyler Black AA Southern 27 10 12 2 6 .444

Jordan Nwogu AA Tennessee 14 3 6 1 5 .429

Konnor Piott0 A Down East 12 4 5 - 1 .417

Ryan Leitch A Clearwater 10 1 4 1 3 .400

Tristan Peters AA Montgomery 28 4 11 1 6 .393

Liam Hicks AA Frisco 13 3 5 - 3 .385

David McCabe A Rome 23 3 8 1 7 .348

Tyler Wright IND Ottawa Titans 19 4 10 1 8 .526

Kole Cottam IND Spire City 25 7 12 4 9 .480

Justin Gideon IND Quebec 26 7 11 2 6 .423

J.D. Osborne IND Kane County 12 2 5 - 1 .417

Riley Jepson IND Great Falls 26 7 10 - 5 .385

Noah Myers IND Evansville 22 6 7 1 1 .318

Marc Antoine Lebreux IND Quebec 19 4 6 - 3 .316

(Minimum 10 ABs)

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Best Pitching Performances

Name Team Class G W S ERA INN K WHIP

Nick Trogrlic-Iverson AA Springfield 2 1 - 0.00 3.2 4 .000

Trogrlic-Iverson (Oakville, Ont.) is a valuable member of the bullpen core with the Springfield Cardinals, and this week the 26-year-old had two more solid relief appearances: July 20, in a 9-7 win over the Arkansas Travelers, he pitched 1 1/3 scoreless without allowing a hit and was rewarded with his second win of the season. He followed that up on July 22 in a 3-0 loss to Arkansas when he threw two innings, again surrendering no base hits and no runs, while striking out four batters but was not involved in the final decision. These two outings improved his overall record with the Cardinals in 26 Double A Texas League relief appearances, to 2-2 with a 5.00 ERA.

Name Team Class G W S ERA INN K WHIP

Miguel Cienfuegos A Ft. Wayne 1 1 - 0.00 5.0 2 1.000

The road Cienfuegos (Laval, Que.) has travelled to this point in the 2023 season, and the struggles with injuries which he’s had to deal with along the way, have been outlined in previous versions of our Weekly Pitching Highlights segment. This week he demonstrated that he’s reaching a “fully recovered status.” On July 19, in a 11-3 win over the Lake County Captains, he pitched five scoreless, gave up two base hits and struck out two for his first win with the Ft. Wayne TinCaps in the Midwest League. This result improved his overall record in 10 games, which includes rehab stints with Rookie Class ACL Padres in the Arizona Complex League and Lake Elsinore Storm in the Single A California League, to two wins and four losses with a 3.51 ERA.

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Previous Players of the Week

Week I _ Edouard Julien (Ancienne-Lorette, Que.) triple-A St. Paul Saints (Twins)

Week II _ Cade Smith (Abbotsford, BC) double-A Akron RuberDucks (Guardians).

Week III _ Abraham Toro (Longuiel, Que.) triple-A Nashville Sounds (Brewers)

Week IV _ Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.) double-A Midland (A’s) and Trei Cruz (Toronto, Ont.) double-A Erie (Tigers)

Week V _ Wesley Moore (Surrey, BC) class-A Clearwater Threshers (Phillies).

Week VI _ Matt Coutney (Wetaskiwin, Alta.) class-A Inland Empire (Angels).

Week VII _ Damiano Palmegiani (Surrey, BC) double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Jays)

Week VIII _ Matt Coutney (Wetaskiwin, Alta.) class-A Inland Empire (Angels) annd David McCabe (Courtice, Ont.) and Augusta Greenjackets (Braves.)

Week IX _ Erik Sabrowski (Edmonton, Alta.) double-A Akron Rubber Ducks (Guardians)

Week X _ Mitch Bratt (Newmarket, Ont.) class-A Hickory Crawdads (Mets)